20 Under 40 - 2006 Profile: Jody Poe

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 2006

Publisher | Sierra Sun in Truckee, Calif.

Although The Sierra Sun in Truckee, Calif., covers the Lake Tahoe resort community, there's nothing relaxing about Jody Poe's job.

In just over four years, the 36-year-old publisher has taken the Sun from a paid weekly broadsheet to a free weekday tabloid, doubling distribution to 10,000 papers. And she's not nearly finished. Poe says she is thinking about adding a weekend edition.

Poe, who earned her bachelor's degree in landscape horticulture, design and construction from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, says she entered the newspaper industry because she wanted a 'challenging' profession. Working in sales at the brand-new Nebraska Fence Post in Ogallala in 1995 gave her that. "There wasn't anybody we wouldn't talk to," Poe says. "Everybody was a new client."

As the Fence Post's publisher, Poe increased weekly circulation from 12,000 to nearly 15,000, and almost single-handedly brought the paper's Web site to life, says Robert Brown, chief operations officer at Swift Communications in Reno, Nev., which owns the Fence Post and the Sun.

In addition to her current publisher duties at the Sun, Poe is the general manager of Swift's North Shore Group, which includes the Sun; Tahoe World, a weekly tall tabloid in Tahoe City, Calif. (circulation, 25,000); and the thrice-weekly North Lake Tahoe Bonanza in Incline Village, Nev. (5,800).

In a community where a majority of readers enjoy Tahoe's ski and golf scenes for just part of the year, Poe partners with hotels, resorts and homeowners' associations to reach readers. She says she expects to increase market penetration from its current 77 percent to 85 percent in the next 12 to 18 months.

Moving to a free model was key to increasing penetration initially, Poe says. Her advice to other publishers considering the shift to free: "Look at your market, listen to what the market's saying, be bold and go for it."

Jody Poe
Publisher
Sierra Sun in Truckee, Calif.

Q: In what ways do you think your current position will change over the next five years?
A: Even in the small community newspaper world, change is happening daily. I see my role evolving from publisher of a rather traditional print product to publishing in the multimedia arena, evolving from a push media to an interactive media. In the next few years we will certainly be faced with adapting our current operation of print to the ever-changing needs and desires of our readers. What do they want, when and how? These are questions we're asking now. Print, electronic, multiple language, various publishing day options, delivery on demand—all of these things will combine to shape our operation during the next five years.

What's the best career advice anyone ever gave you?
Listen. Listen to your customers, your readers, your staff, your community, your gut. Listen to what the market is saying through data, through business trends, through research and through good, old-fashioned conversation. Listening and hearing what's being said will give you a great deal of insight and direction into what decisions you should be making.

What three things would you change about the newspaper industry?

• Make the newspaper industry more nimble and more adaptable. I would like to see us become more innovative and responsive. We have the talent, the sources, the resources, the access that other media dream of. We are the leaders in news and information gathering. By being more nimble, we could leverage those strengths instead of doing things the same way we've always done them and playing catch-up with a world that moves at light speed. Our ability to be nimble, adaptable and innovative determines our success at capturing reader and market share.
• Become a more interactive media and involve readers in the game—blogs, citizen reporters and contributors, editorial and reader boards, youth writers and citizen photographers. Involving our readers in the newsgathering and reporting experience, instead of pushing information to them, is one way to encourage involvement. I do not mean sacrifice the true journalism that is the foundation. I do mean welcome other voices. Involved, engaged readers make for a dynamic conversation that attracts readers and advertisers.
• The newspaper industry needs to take a hard look at our dependence on paid circulation. I am obviously a "free" believer in the right markets and see the battle changing. We are in a fight for readers, and in my mind that means paid and nonpaid. Removing the barrier to entry at the newsstand radically changes the reach and readership of the print product in a positive way.